Texas A&M linebacker Sean Porter (10) runs the interception on a pass intended for Alabama wide receiver Kenny Bell (7) during the first quarter of a college football game at Bryant-Denny Stadium, Saturday,

Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel (2) looks for a receiver during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Alabama at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala., Saturday, Nov. 10, 2012. (AP Photo/Dave Martin) (Associated Press)

Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel (2) looks for a receiver during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Alabama at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala., Saturday, Nov. 10, 2012. (AP

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The architect of Texas A&M's historic move to the Southeastern Conference stood on the most hallowed of SEC grounds, Alabama's football field, and grinned as wide as the Brazos River on Saturday night.

A&M president R. Bowen Loftin, who spearheaded the university's league change a year ago, narrowed down the Aggies' stunning 29-24 upset of No. 1 Alabama to one word as players, coaches and A&M fans hugged in joy near him.

“Whodathunkit?” Loftin wondered.

Loftin chuckled at the suggestion that Saturday's surprising victory made the exit from the Big 12 after 16 years and the entrance to the SEC worth it for A&M.

“That was a 100-year decision, sir,” Loftin said.

The Aggies have played football more than 100 years, but Saturday's triumph in Bryant-Denny Stadium, when they jumped out to a 20-0 first quarter lead before many of the 101,821 fans had settled in, is perhaps among their top five victories in history.

No. 1 is A&M's 14-13 edging of Tulane in the Sugar Bowl following the 1939 season that earned the program its lone Associated Press national title.

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More recently, R.C. Slocum's Aggies upset No. 2 Kansas State in the 1998 Big 12 title game, and four years later Slocum's Aggies toppled No. 1 Oklahoma at Kyle Field. Slocum's offensive coordinator for the OU upset was a rising star in the business named Kevin Sumlin.

Loftin and the Aggies hired Sumlin, the Houston Cougars' head coach, last December to resurrect a program that had only won half its games the past decade. Plenty of critics scoffed at the idea of A&M competing in the SEC, winner of the past six national titles.

The Aggies (8-2 overall) have far exceeded expectations in their first year in the SEC, however, with three consecutive road wins over Auburn, Mississippi State and now Alabama.

“I'm happiest for the seniors and experienced players, because they've been through a lot with a coaching change and close football games,” Sumlin said of the Aggies blowing five large leads last season under Mike Sherman, whom Loftin fired following a 27-25 loss to Texas on Thanksgiving. “To go on the road and win like this will be a moment they'll never forget.”

A&M legend Bucky Richardson, who quarterbacked the team to a 1991 Southwest Conference title, stood on the sidelines Saturday and smiled at the current players' lifetime memory created by earning the program's highest-ranked road victory. The previous was toppling No. 6 Penn State in 1979 in State College, Pa.

“This is as big a win as maybe we've ever had,” Richardson said. “It's a beautiful thing, and it's incredible to see what these kids have done. It's just really fun to watch.”

The most fun to watch of the bunch is freshman quarterback Johnny Manziel, a former Kerrville Tivy standout who buoyed his Heisman Trophy chances with another strong showing. Manziel gained 345 total yards, including 92 yards rushing, against the nation's top-rated defense that entered the contest allowing nine points per game.

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“Manziel is the real deal, but that dern offensive line is pretty good, too,” said a grinning A&M athletic director Eric Hyman, who's been on the job three months. “It's the best offensive line I've been associated with.”

Meanwhile thousands of A&M fans on hand for the historic victory joined in the singing of the “Aggie War Hymn” with the Aggie Band and the players who gathered in the corner of the stadium where Bryant once roamed the sidelines.

Like Loftin, A&M fan and graduate Paul Janish, who made the trip from Houston and partied well into Saturday night, narrowed down the improbable triumph to one word: “Unbelievable.”